The debate around what roles women can and cannot fill in the church appears to have reached a stalemate with both sides often supporting their positions based on texts in the Pauline corpus. Those advocating for greater inclusion of women frequently focus on Romans 16 and Galatians 3:28; those who limit women’s roles tend to base their arguments on 1 Corinthians 14:34 or 1 Timothy 2:11–15. One of the key issues in the debate relates to the question of whether the principle in Galatians 3 should inform the interpretation of the instructions in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy, or if those instructions mean that the principle merely reflects an ontological reality with limited ethical implications for ecclesiology. To some extent the argument focusing on an ontological reality that merely expresses the availability of salvation to both men and women builds on Galatians 3:27’s mention of baptism and the possibility that the passage incorporates a pre-Pauline baptismal formula. The current discussion moves beyond this focus, building on the concept of being “clothed in Christ” in the latter part of that verse (Gal 3:27b.) Based on the communicative role of clothing in the Greco-Roman world, this analysis offers a way forward in which Paul’s seemingly contradictory principle and instructions can be read as two aspects of a single coherent position, briefly examining 1 Tim 2:11–15 as a test case.